Month: January 2017

My mum, sister, myself, and a friend hit the road to Washington, D.C. last Friday to stand in solidarity with all women and people of color to protest our president. And being the road warriors we are, I knew we’d need warm sustenance.

So I took a stab at making homemade cup of noodles. All we had to do was add hot water and a yummy meal was ready.

I did a handful of different kinds–two beef based, with tofu, shiitake mushrooms I’d sauteed in olive oil, salt, pepper, spinach, frozen veggies, and soy sauce, and hot sauce, with ramen noodles on top. I also made a chicken based one which mimicked chicken noodle with Japanese udon, and a vegetarian based one for my sister with miso paste, soy sauce, hot sauce, edamame, spinach, tofu, and broccoli slaw.

They were a hit. I’d definitely make different versions of these again. Hearty, warm, and filling. I used this guide. You should make them soon.

I have knit 10 hats for friends and family who will march with me on Washington this coming Saturday. If you don’t know about the Pussy Hat Project, read more about it here. Today, I registered all of my hats with their website.

I’m pleased I managed to make a hat for everyone on my list in less than a week. I wanted to include as much of my own flair as possible–so there are chunky hats, striped hats, and interpretations on “pink”, which is the color you are meant to knit your hats in.

Most of these were knit up with yarns in my stash–quite honestly, I’m not a big “pink” gal, so I was surprised I had as much in my collection as I did; and I purchased a few chunkier yarns when it got closer to the wire of my deadline. Yarns include Manos Del Uruguay, Malabrigo Merino Worsted, Malabrigo Rasta, Noro Silk Garden, and Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage.

Each of these will be packaged with a copy of We Should All Be Feminists, which I feel is essential reading my marching friends can check out as we rest at our campground the night before hitting the pavement.

I also helped make a handful of signs we will carry. There’s nothing like handmade protest signs. I hope to remember this day, one day, even though I had hoped we wouldn’t need this kind of solidarity in 2017.

I’m mad about making breakfast sandwiches. I never eat them myself–I’m strictly a seeded toast and coffee gal, with a very occasional English egg to go with. But, Sean really loves any egg based breakfast and sandwiches are fast and fufilling and I always have ingredients on hand.

This one is avocado, jack cheese, two eggs, and chorizo. It was bomb. What are your favorite breakfast sandwich combos?

This is the Plucky Knitter Season Pass hat I knit for my sister in law this past holiday. I really wanted to stick closely to one of the color stories presented in the original pattern because I thought the intended wearer would appreciate it based on her style and dress.

This was yet another entirely stash busting project, which I love. The only issue? Even though I selected worsted weight yarns, they were all different kinds and I think it drastically effected the height of my hat. It was SO tall–and I’m a fan of tall hats. I didn’t check my guage because I never do with hats. As it grew, I realized if I completed the decreases as the pattern called for, the hat would be unwieldy. I fudged the top; decreasing every round instead of every other. The result is more elfish than I had hoped for (that’s my lingo for pointy at the top) but I think it’s cute anyways. I’d definitely explore and consider what I could do to make this hat a better size next time around.

Stash busting projects are fun for experimentation. Knit up using bits of Malabrigo Merino Worsted in the purple mystery colorway, some Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in woodsmoke, and Madelinetosh Tosh Vintage in espadrilles.

This is my second Forester by Michele Wang. I just adore this pattern. The construction is interesting and unlike any sweater I’ve knit before–you start at the neck, increase for the sleeves, then knit one sleeve completely, work to the next sleeve, knit that one completely, and then go back to the body.

Genius! No sleeves to do last. I love that. It feels like it knits faster, and the two strands of worsted weight held together on size 11 needles helps, too.

It’s such a flattering finish off. I’ve done it in two different yarns–this one in Cascade 220 in the silver gray and white colorways respectively. It’s exactly what I had hoped it would look like.

More details, to come, with finished snaps. My first version of this sweater was gifted to my mum last year for her birthday. I’ve gifted her a handful of sweaters over the years; she says, by far, this is her favorite one to wear.

In a few shorts weeks, a pile of incredible women I know will jump into my mum’s RV, Kitty, for a road trip. And while we have done countless cross country adventures throughout the years, this will be something with a different goal.

We will be marching with hoards of other women on Washington, to protest this president, his cabinet, and all they stand for. For some, it will be their first march on Washington. And my contribution to the group?

I knit my brother a Roku Hat in this shocking neon orange for Christmas. He’s into skeet shooting these days and an avid outdoors man. He needed an approrpiately knit hat. And while I finished it so closely to when I gifted it, I failed to grab a snap of it. However, here’s to hoping he wears it.

Entirely stash busting, I used half this skein of Manos Del Uruguay Maxima in the Zinnia colorway. I’m glad I found a use for this yarn, originally bought as an accent color for a cowl I decided against knitting. Thus is the way it goes.